Impact of exosome therapy on pancreatic cancer and its progression

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer, one of the most aggressive tumors, has a dismal prognosis because of the low rates of early identification, fast progression, difficulties following surgery, and the ineffectiveness of current oncologic therapies. There are no imaging techniques or biomarkers that can accurately identify, categorize, or predict the biological behavior of this tumor. Exosomes are extracellular vesicles that play a crucial rule in the progression, metastasis, and chemoresistance of pancreatic cancer. They have been verified to be potential biomarkers for pancreatic cancer management. Studying the role of exosomes in pancreatic cancer is substantial. Exosomes are secreted by most eukaryotic cells and participated in intercellular communication. The components of exosomes, including proteins, DNA, mRNA, microRNA, long non-coding RNA, circular RNA, etc., play a crucial role in regulating tumor growth, metastasis, and angiogenesis in the process of cancer development, and can be used as a prognostic marker and/or grading basis for tumor patients. Hereby, in this concise review, we intend to summarize exosomes components and isolation, exosome secretion, function, importance of exosomes in the progression of pancreatic cancer and exosomal miRNAs as possible pancreatic cancer biomarkers. Finally, the application potential of exosomes in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, which provides theoretical supports for using exosomes to serve precise tumor treatment in the clinic, will be discussed.

Extracellular vesicles in nanomedicine and regenerative medicine: A review over the last decade

“…Exosomes can be utilized as drug delivery systems for various types of cancer, not the brain, lung, and liver disorders. Doxorubicin, a commonly used drug for treating solid tumors [ 229 ], has been loaded into exosomes as a potential treatment for different cancer types, including osteosarcoma [ 175 , 230 , 231 ], colon cancer [ 232 , 233 ], ovarian cancer [ 234 , 235 ], breast cancer [ [236] , [237] , [238] ], and pancreatic cancer [ 239 , 240 ]. Hadla et al [ 241 ] conducted a study on the therapeutic effect of doxorubicin-loaded exosomes on breast and ovarian cancers.…”